Topic: Beach

Every afternoon on Nantucket hundreds of thousands of Long-Tailed Ducks travel over Madaket harbor on their way to Nantucket Sound. NPR Bird correspondent Vern Laux describes the remarkable scene.

Mr. Laux’s passion for birds has taken him around the world, but every afternoon on Nantucket he marvels at the flight of the long-tailed duck. A scene that Laux says, “It's really one of the ornithological wonders of the eastern seaboard, if not the whole country.”

If you get inspired to view this scene, head out to Madaket Harbor or Smith's Point in the afternoon and stick around for a stunning sunset.

Weather experts called Noel an Extratropical Storm, which, in weatherman's terms, means it's the same level as an extratropical cyclone. Though Nantucket didn't see any cyclone action, there were plenty of crazy waves and wind at any given beach on the island.

Various activities were cancelled or postponed until the weather subsided, including the SAT testing, Junior Miss, and the Harvest Fair at the First Congregational Church.

The storm took a toll along the east coast for the past week, and, although Nantucket residents were prepared, with gusts up to 92 MPH, it's kind of hard to feel totally safe.

With the storm over, the sun shining, and the clouds nearly non-existent, it's time to get back to work, pick up the shingles, and rake up the leaves.

If you know of any roads to avoid, or just want to share your storm story, please feel free send it to us in our comments section below..

Got photos you'd like to share with us? Submit them online through our submission form or email them to ackphotos@plumtv.com.

The 34th Annual Sandcastle Competition featured some very creative masterworks this year. The competition, put on every year by NISDA and the Chamber of Commerce, attracted thousands of people to the beach on Saturday.

Around 45 groups braved the high winds and designed everything from Mermaids to musical instruments at Jetties Beach. Judging of the sandcastles was based on appearance and title choice. Any team that took a look at Plum's Sandcastle list got a headstart on the competition.

When asked about his game plan for the day Tom McDonald, one of the winners of Best in Show for his work on “Surfside Sushi” said, “We had to modify our [design] a little bit. We got a little aggressive with our shark”.

Many of the families involved spent much of their time doing all too familiar tasks to seasoned sandcastle builders, building moats and walls to preserve their creations. Despite the rising tides, the day was packed full of family fun and creative designs.